Day 44 – Apalachicola

Day 44
Miles today: 19.3 miles
Miles so far: 797ish miles
Campsite: Stealth Campsite

There was no dew on my tent! Finally! Another great morning 🙂

I was up and on the trail by 7am, Joey following close by. Ate the remaining sub sandwich in bed. What a delight! Sure beats a blend granola bar or some sugary pastry.

We had to skip the Marsh area because a past hurricane had destroyed the boardwalk and it would of been marshy hiking all morning. Whew thanks FTA for the sign! So we road walked about 7 miles until I had to switch map on my app. Woot!!! I’m now into the Panhandle East and there’s only Panhandle West section left after. It’s getting so close!

The road walked was nice and quiet all the way to Medart. We stopped at the Triangle Mart there. I got myself a oiece of cheese, 25g protein chocolate milk and a fruit pastry. Second breakfast was delicious! The trail was nice and wide today and easy to follow after that. There was a lot of new growth but it was still manageable to hike on.

We crossed a few jeep roads and had a few wet spots. At one point I almost lost my crocks in the muck. I couldn’t see through the water so here I was searching the area for it with my foot. Lots of muck and mushy algea. Yum!!

We made it to the Oak Park Trailhead and a car was parked there. The trail had obviously been burned but there was arrows pointing hikers to a reroute. We followed until a guy named David came talk to us in his car. He had come up to hike for the night but the trail was closed. He gave us his phone number and said to call if we needed anything in the next few days. How neat!

So I must confess! I am not currently hiking on the Florida trail. Eek! I had zero interest in hiking through another swamp so Joey and I parted ways. This swamp, Bradwell Bay, is said to be mucky and hard to traverse as there are tons of down logs in the water. The app even said that the mud will pull retractable trekking poles apart… So I decided to keep my happiness at a all-time high and keep my feet dry. I am using forest roads to make my way back at the end of the swamp section. I am still hiking!

I found a campsite on a helipad grassy area. Perfect flat spot surrounded by a small pond. The frogs and other water creatures are extremely loud and it’s quite interesting! Even a praying mantis tried to get in my tent! Those things are neat!

Let’s hope for another comfortable night and dry feet for tomorrow. Happy trails!